MILLICENT leaned over the fence and chatted animatedly with Beryl, her next-door neighbour. Millie, as she was fondly called, was a buxom woman. Some 300 pounds in solid matter, she rose to about five feet, one inch in height.

Her short stature seemed to give added significance to her size. Her friends quietly whispered to each other that Millie had a lot to look forward to- a direct reference to her enormous breasts-and a lot to fall back upon- a humorous indication of the massive backside with which she was endowed.

Millie was a 51-year-old divorcee with six children in tow. The two eldest were the product of her first encounter before marriage. The third was as a result of her marriage, which lasted a mere two and a half years. The last three were from three separate relationships of convenience.

Times were tough in Guyana so Millie had a hard time taking care of her brood. The eldest was 11 and the youngest one. Because of constant quarrels and fights; due to her war-like nature, the father of her last child had left in frustration and shame.

He had been soundly beaten and verbally abused about things he didn’t even know about himself. He would not be back. The free movement of men in her life was the only constant she was accustomed to. Her gentlemen always fled the scene leaving living evidence of their brief sojourns.

Rumour management was Millie’s favourite past time and she was no ordinary gossip at that. She knew everything about everybody; even more than they knew about themselves. She was humorously dubbed ‘CNN LIVE!’ and she lived up to her reputation.

She had different categories of gossip. Her First-Class gossip were the stories she spoke about for the first time. Second-Class were those she repeated and Third Class were the juicy ones she just had to mention a third time.

Now, Millie loved to talk. From the time she opened her eyes to bedtime, it was, chatter, chatter, chatter.

“You hear Doris throw away she child?”
“So I hear but I don’t believe it,” replied Beryl.
“Well girl, a friend of mine working at de clinic, and she tell me dat Doris went to see de Gynecologist and spent three hours in the examination room.” Millie’s tone was emphatic. “Is gone dat baby gone!”
Beryl sighed and said, “It sound so but you never know what really wrong wid she. De last time you tell me Carlton had AIDS it turn out dat de man had cancer.”
“Dat was not me fault. After all, de man stay so and start fo dry up fast, fast and look like a walking dead. What he expect people to think? He should have told me something and save us a lot of headache.”
Millicent was trying to defend her actions in spreading the malicious rumour that eventually got back to the ears of Carlton. He had come to see her and explained what damage and pain she had caused him with her insensitive behaviour. She had quickly apologised but no sooner had he and his wife left that she had resorted to her old ways: gossip, gossip, gossip.
“Well, why she husband quarrel wid she last night? I hear him telling her that she should have asked him about going.”
Actually, Millie had heard bits and pieces and was on her way to the back fence intent on taking up a strategic position to hear all the ‘low-down’ when her smallest child began to cry.
This put a spoke in her wheel and she was unable to get the full content of the encounter. She was convinced, however, that the fight was about Doris’ abortion. It wasn’t too hard to figure out.
“I hope she know what she doing. Throwing away a child is a big sin.” Millie was sitting in judgment.
Millie would be in a better position to know all about that. Due to circumstances beyond her control, she had been forced to abort three children. One was for her first-cousin when she was only 17, so that one had to go. The second was for a married man twice her age and the third was for Beryl’s husband. All the abortions had been done outside of the region and while “on vacation”. This ensured that it was kept secret.
Beryl continued to hang her newly washed clothes on the line while Millie prattled on.
“My friend at de clinic says dat Doris is not de only one around here dat trying to get out of de family way.”
Now Beryl showed keen interest for the first time. “Who else girl?”
Millie’s head swelled with pride over being a privileged source of information.
“Child, Vanessa’s daughter throw away she belly two weeks ago.”
“But she only in third form,” was Beryl’s shocked response.
“I know girl. I hear is she father give she dat. You don’t see dat man always gat he daughter with he?” Millie queried.
“You sure?” asked Beryl in a suspicious tone.
Millie rolled her eyes in exaggerated disbelief. “All she school meetings, school sports and things like dat de father at. De man does watch-man he daughter.”
Beryl tried to absorb this but found difficulty doing so. “But she is such a nice, quiet child.”
“She quiet but not so nice,” was Millie’s retort.
“You never see she walking round de house in she underwear?” Millie asked.
“So what ? Me girls does walk around like dat too. It don’t mean a thing,” challenged Beryl.
“Well! Millicent daughters ain’t doing dat. Never!” Millie sounded adamant.
Beryl continued working while her friend droned on.
“Mrs. Narine get rid of she own too.”
Beryl dropped the skirt and looked incredulously at Millicent.
“Don’t look so shocked. She husband only dead a year ago and she already tek up.”
Millie was now basking in self-importance.
“I hear is she brother-in-law that come from de USA with she smaller sister fo de funeral. He do he mischief and fly out.”
By now Beryl was leaning over the fence drinking in every word. Her clothes were abandoned for the time being.
“She run Berbice an do it quiet, quiet, but a nurse up deh know me friend and she give her de low-down.”
“I hear she going foreign,” Beryl piped in.
“Yeah, let she go up deh and mash up she sister marriage. I sure dat man would can’t keep he hands off she when she get there.”
Beryl resumed hanging out her clothes. She had been outside for more than an hour to do a job that usually took less than 20 minutes. She had to cook before her husband got home.
Millicent sensed her urgency and said, “I thank God I don’t have to cook for no man. When I don’t feel like cooking, dem children does have to mek do wid porridge and fry plantain.”
Beryl was cautious with her reply trying her best not to divulge any information. “Tony not too fussy about food. De last time I went to Essequibo for a month to look after mummy when she fell sick, he didn’t object.”
Millicent almost burst out laughing. Tony had had no complaints because he had eaten good and proper from her. That was how their affair had started. Millie caught herself and spoke before Beryl became suspicious about her silence.
“Well, you lucky girl. You don’t find many men like he.”
Beryl clipped the last vest on the line and turned to go. “See you later Millie”
Beryl headed back to her house and Millie straightened her mass and waddled towards her tiny shack, her bow legs causing her to look comical. Time to boil de porridge. Today she would boil, not fry the plantain. She would also boil a few eggs. But first, she must return a call to Thelma at the clinic. This had to be another juicy gossip. She picked up the cell-phone and began to dial.